Much of this book I actually enjoyed – surprising myself because I haven’t had much time for Houllebecq in the past, finding his attitudes, especially his misogyny, hard to take. Yet this latest, and possibly last, novel from him seemed to be a departure. There was more compassion, more tenderness even, more humanity in general – although with the caveat that the misogyny is still in evidence. Houllebecq just doesn’t seem able to “get” women, not least in his view (wish?) that sex is their driving force. There are three main threads in the novel, and the first two I could have done without. Set in 2027, there’s a Presidential race going on, and our protagonist Paul Raison is close to government and heavily involved. I expect that many of the references to French politics passed me by. Then there are a weird series of cyberterrorism attacks going on, very mysterious ones, which are baffling the cyber experts. The politics I could have accepted, but I didn’t see the point of the cyberattacks and couldn’t work out why there were there. They didn’t seem to add anything to the overall narrative. But the core story of Paul, and his family, his own deteriorating health, the collapse of his father and the dilemma of how to care for him, his failing marriage, and the marriages of his brother and sister, all this had some merit and kept me reading. I wanted to know how it was all going to pan out for them, whether there was going to be any redemption, any hope for the future. A very imperfect book, to be sure, and not one I would recommend, but in general one that I wanted to return to and see thought to the end.

Did not finish, just couldn't get along with this 50 yr old government officer character, so out of time, he doesn't speak to his wife, the dark hunour & involves him 'getting an accidental' sexual behaviour from his Neice, this is simply familial sexual abuse.
Would not recommend.

After thirty years of terrorising literature with a schlockfest menu of sex, shit, death and latterly anti-Islamic views Houllebecq says this is his farewell to the novel. Submission, the last novel of his I read, was genuinely lacerating, from his anti-establishment conservative stance. A decade on and it seems time may finally be ticking. Annihilation finds Houllebecq in an autumnal mood. Broadly, his thesis is that the sun is setting on French democracy and also on Paul, a senior civil servant who is the book’s protagonist. There are three major plot strands: Paul’s interactions with Bruno, a cabinet minister who has a key role in the two-term French President’s rigging of the democratic system to run again after a Putin/Medvedev interregnum; a mysterious and escalating cyberterrorist campaign; and Paul’s domestic dilemmas which involve an ageing father in need of twenty-four hour care, a depressed brother and a wife who has become a stranger to him.Having set these plots running Houllebecq uses his characters to contemplate faith versus reason, democracy versus strong government, and finally the desire for life against the acceptance of death. There’s a whole library of books that Paul picks up, from philosophy to Agatha Christie to rehearse these arguments. Inside this long book is a slightly shorter one struggling to emerge. The pages long retelling of Paul’s vivid dreams are just one content category that could have been slimmed down.

Houllebecq’s always been better on scenes than plot, and the best of these depict the scenes of struggle. Paul and Prudence’s chilly and tidy flat, the corridors of power, and most vividly the scenes of suffering and humiliation in a care home; and finally the beauty of the French countryside in autumn. This book picks up definite pace and focus towards the end. Paul is given a devastating medical diagnosis, and as he has to contemplate his own mortality the other plots fall away. For Paul at the end only those close to him matter, and the time he can spend with them.

While some of his old tricks are still in play, and you’ve got to be undaunted by 500-odd pages of at times dense prose, I’d recommend this to a casual but adventurous reader as a way into his work.

I think a lot of this book was lost in the translation to English, I see raving reviews about this but I just couldn't get into the writing style. the third time that the word pussy appeared i just gave up. Do not finish for me.

I find it hard to review this book, mostly because it's hard to say what it's about. On the surface, it's a novel about Paul, an advisor to a minister in the French government. A presidential election is looming, and Paul's boss is being positioned for the prime-minster's position in the new government (assuming he gets elected). In parallel, a series of disruptive terror-like events start occurring, unsettling those in power. Against this background, we see Paul, a man in his 60s, confront his past, present, and, eventually, future, as he slowly makes peace with who he really is and what actually is important in his life.

This book is quite different to the other books by the author that I read or heard about. It's slow-moving and, at its essence, romantic and full of love of life. It lacks the typical hard satirical edge, but gains humaneness and kindness. As usual for the author, it's well written, and demonstrates the tremendous fount of knowledge (literary, philosophical, historical) that the author possesses. It is also a story about a life and what it means to live it, and what, at the end of it all, matters most.

Overall, I liked the book. I struggled with it a bit (more about this later), but the overall experience has been deeply rewarding. It's a book that I believe one would enjoy more the later in life one finds oneself - perhaps 50+ is the best time to read it. I liked most the gradual progression and self discovery that the protagonist experiences. I also appreciated the way the author intertwined seemingly important "external" events (elections, terror acts) with Paul's personal experiences, juxtaposing them as a means to distill the essence of what is indeed important.

What I struggled most with was the pacing and the flow. I understand how important it was to write the book this way, but it didn't make reading it easy. I found myself taking breaks and reading other books in parallel, which is something I very rarely need to do to get through a book. This was exacerbated by the fact that until one gets to about 80% of the book it remains unclear what it is about. There are so many threads that don't really come together, and only in the last 20% you realise the purpose and the big picture (which, in many ways, is very well done).

I also found the annotations about the book infuriatingly misleading. In my view, they fail to capture the essence of what the book is trying to say.

I recommend it to anyone who struggles with the purpose of life, balancing life and work, and getting overly frustrated with things that one can't really change.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Houellebecq floored us once again with a delicate, emotional, mature work that does not lack the sharpness of the trademark Houellebecq-ean critique of the West and the Western reality.

I am not sure this one was for me Not only was it very long I felt that at times I was as sad as his main character Paul Raison. It did get a bit pacier as I progressed through but it was a struggle. Its value lies in making you stop and think about the way society today is progressing. It also highlights the finality of death. It definitely provoked much contemplation from me when I had finished the book

"It might seem like a political thriller, but it's really about a man, his family, religion, depression, cancer, and relationships. In short, it's good. Once again, Houellebecq captures human nature with sharp accuracy."

Plotless, mirthless and insightless.; the book’s redeeming feature is it’s the last one France’s least lovable novelist will ever produce.

I absolutely love the cover art on this book, just fabulous! It really draws you in and makes you want to pick the book up and read it. Sadly, the content does not live up to the cover. I found this tome, so long and just so boring. There were so many totally unnecessary segues and tortuous conversations that added nothing to the plot and went nowhere and many of the plotlines were just left hanging. There were also some repellent ideas about the "healing power" of sex. I kind of wish I'd not wasted my time on this. It told me nothing new and was a hard slog with (for me) no reward.

Houellebecq has said that this will be his last novel which will disappoint his many fans and admirers. The plot revolves around Paul, an advisor to the French Finance Minister. It's 2027 and the presidential election campaign is in full flow. Europe is also hit by a series of sophisticated cyber attacks (Houellebecq used to be a computer programmer), Paul's father who is a senior figure in the computer counter terrorism department which is scrambling to understand the attacks, suffers a stroke and Paul finds himself back in his childhood bedroom trying to repair his relationship with his siblings as they wait around their father's bedside.